The Red Stallion
by AkaiKamiRyu
Summary: When a new pony enters the lives of the Mane 6, things will never be the same. Rated T for action, certain events, and some content later in the story. OCx?
1. A Day Like Any Other Or Not

**A/N**: I have just realized that I'm posting a MLP-FiM fanfiction… I guess that makes me a full-blown Brony. This is my first attempt at this series, please don't judge too harshly. This starts near the end of Season One but before The Grand Galloping Gala. Why? Read and find out. Feel free to read my other works if you want. Now on with the story!

Almost forgot…

**Disclaimer**: Hasbro owns "My Little Pony". I call ownership on any and all OCs that appear.

Ch1-A Day Like Any Other… Or Not…

The sun shined down over Equestia, giving everything a warm blessing of comfort. At one area of the land, an orange mare yawned and stretched as she looked over the apple orchard that her family had run for generations. She adjusted the hat on her head and smiled. "What perfect weather for bucking me some apples," she said to no one.

Applejack trotted over to a nearby cart full of empty baskets, hitched herself up and headed off into the long rows of apple trees. She looked around as if trying to decide where to start her harvesting. _Big Mac and Granny Smith are out of town for the week,_ she thought to herself, as she looked at a large clump of trees. _Don't want to start a too big of a job, and not get anything else done._ She shook her head as some amusing and bitter memories came to mind. _If Applebloom wasn't off with her friends I'd be able to do a bit more, but… _She sighed as she neared her destination.

As soon as Applejack arrived at the area of the orchard, she could feel something was off. It only took a quick scan to reveal the reason for her unease. Below one of the larger trees was a sizeable pile of apple cores. She gave the pile a look of annoyance before looking up into the green cover of the tree. Applejack could not see anything out of the ordinary but she knew that this pile did not form on its own.

"If any critters are up there, y'all better come down 'for I buck ya down," she called up to the tree. Fluttershy had asked her before to try and warn animals that decided to eat Applejack's apples before running them off the farm. With no response, or any action whatsoever, Applejack turned and gave the tree a mighty buck, shaking the tall tree all the way to the top. Suddenly—

"Whaaaaa—Ooomf!" came a startled cry from the back of the tree.

Applejack's eyes went wide. She had not expected there to be somepony in the tree. She quickly ran to the other side and saw what looked like a crumpled cloak lying over the tree roots. "Hey, are… ya okay?" she asked hesitantly.

"But, Mommy… I like the purple bunny," was the dazed response she received.

Applejack could tell the voice was a young stallion's, but did not understand what that statement meant. "Are y'all okay? Do I need ta call a doctor?" she asked again.

With a small groan the pile of cloth rose and Applejack could see four hooves below and a muzzle sticking out of the hood. "Ooohh… wha happened?" the figure asked while rubbing his head.

"Looks like I caught ya, ya thief!" Applejack stated as she realized that the stallion was (mostly) uninjured. "What makes ya think y'all could come on ta my orchard and steal my apples?"

The figure moved his hood up to show a pony with a very confused and worried look on his face. "You mean that—I'm in your—I've been…" The young stallion stuttered as he looked at Applejack's stern face before bowing like she was one of the princesses. "I humbly apologize for my transgressions and seek your forgiveness."

Applejack's anger was quickly forgotten as she looked at the pony practically lying on the ground in front of her. "Um… It's kinda hard ta talk ta somepony like that. Uh… please get up."

"Am I forgiven?" he asked with sincerity.

"Uh, yeah. Sure. If ya tell me what ya where doin' up there in tha first place."

The stallion rose to his hooves and gave a sheepish smile to Applejack. "I was sleeping," he stated simply. "I came across this field late last night. I was hungry and didn't know that it was part of a farm. So I climbed a tree and ate my full. Then I fell asleep until I apparently fell on my head."

Applejack blushed in embarrassment. "That would've bin my fault. I thought a few critters where making a home here and wanted ta scare them out. Sorry fer that."

The stallion chuckled. "I guess that makes us even. I eat your apples, I get kicked out of a tree."

Applejack blinked for a second before chuckling herself. She took a good look at the stallion in front of her. He was still covered in the dark-gray cloak, but she could see most of his face. His coat appeared to be a deep red color with his mane as black as coal. The most curious thing she could see was the fact that he had two different colored eyes. One was as green as her own eyes, while the other was a bright blue. Such a thing was never heard of before. It was… mysterious…

"So…" began the stallion. "Am I still in trouble?"

Applejack shook her head in response and to clear it. _I guess I was staring._ She glanced at the wagon she brought with her as an idea formed. "Ya know what ya could do ta make up for eatin' my apples? Help me harvest a bunch."

The stallion blinked then smiled. "Sure. I'd be happy to help Miss…"

"Name's Applejack. What should I call ya?" she replied with a small smile.

The stallion rubbed his neck nervously. "My name is Akama…"

Applejack blinked a little confused. "What did ya say ya name was again?"

Akama sighed. "My name is pronounced: Ah-Kah-Mah. It's a foreign name as you can tell." He seemed to fidget under the confused look. "I'm not from around here…"

Applejack smiled a friendly smile to try and ease some the nervousness away from her new acquaintance. "That's alright. If ya don't want ta talk about it, I won't ask." Akama seemed to smile at that statement. "Now, before we waste anymore time, let's git started." She walked over to the wagon and pulled a stack of the baskets off and onto her back. "If ya could fill half of these I'd appreciate it."

Akama looked at the baskets then at the rows of trees. "I just need to fill them up with apples?"

"Of course. The best way is ta place the baskets under the tree and give a strong buck ta the trunk." Applejack demonstrated said technique on the nearest tree. Akama was impressed as nearly every apple fell in a basket. "If ya have any trouble, let me know. 'kay?"

Akama nodded as he looked contemplatively at the baskets. "I wonder…" he mumbled to himself as he watched Applejack carry a couple of baskets out of sight. "Now's my chance…"

* * *

About thirty minutes later, Applejack carried the full baskets back to her wagon with a smile on her face. _At this rate, I'll fill the wagon by lunchtime._ As she reached her wagon, she stopped and stared. Every basket was filled and sitting nicely on the bed. "Wh-what the hay…?" she stuttered as Akama came into view.

"Oh! Hi there," he called a little nervously. "I didn't think you'd be back so soon. I'm almost finished loading the last of the baskets."

Applejack trotted as fast as she could without losing any of her own apples over to Akama. "How'd ya do that?" she asked half in surprise and half in anger. "It takes my whole family a couple of hours to do that much."

Akama seemed to shrink a bit. "Well… I have a couple of tricks I can—"

"Are ya a unicorn?" Applejack asked suddenly. "If so, then that would make a lot of sense." Akama hesitated for a second before pulling his hood all the way down, revealing that he did have a horn. "Well, shoot. If ya told me that in tha first place, I wouldn'tve snapped at ya." She gave him a genuine smile. "Great work by the way."

Akama returned the smile a little uneasy. "Well, I guess you don't need me anymore." He turned to leave when Applejack placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Y-yes?'

"Why don't ya give me a little more help with the wagon, and I give ya a nice batch of home cookin?" Before Akama could respond, his stomach answered for him, by giving a loud growl. The two ponies started laughing as they headed towards Applejack's house.

* * *

"So this is where you and your family live?" Akama asked as the farmhouse came into view. "It looks very nice."

Applejack nodded as she walked the wagon towards the barn where they stored the apples for sorting. "Yeah. It's just the four of us. So, we don't need much."

Akama blinked and turned to look at Applejack. "Four of you? Who else is here?"

Applejack grunted as she closed the large barn doors. "My big brother and grandma are out visiting other family for the week, and my little sister is off playing with her friends. That's why I was out in the fields by myself. Well… until I met ya," she added with a small chuckle.

Akama gave a small smile. "So what should I expect to be eating? A lot of apple dishes I assume?" he asked with a small wink.

Applejack just beamed a big smile. "Of course. What else would ya eat on an orchard?"

Akama shrugged. "I eat many different things from different places. So I can't really judge. I was on a farm once, where all we ate were corn on the cob." He laughed at the memory. "I guess one of the kids messed up the seed order, or something."

Applejack shook her head as she walked in the house with Akama right behind. "They could've dried some of it and made some corn meal. One of my friends makes a mean cornbread muffin. Maybe ya could meet her later."

Akama just made a noncommittal grunt as he took a seat at the small table. Applejack sped around the kitchen like a pony on a mission. Soon she had a few of hot apple based dishes laid out on the table with an apple-pie cooling on the windowsill. As she took her seat across from Akama, she noticed something strange. "Ain't ya hot in that cloak?" she asked curiously.

Akama suddenly tensed up and seemed to pull it a bit tighter on himself. "N-not really. I'm fine… This looks great by the way." He then proceeded to eat his full.

Applejack started eating as well but kept her eyes on the new colt in her life. She blinked. _Where did that thought come from?_ She looked at Akama again and felt her cheeks heat a little. She had to admit that he was good looking, and seemed to be a gentlecolt, but she knew next to nothing about him. "So what where ya doin' wondering around 'til late last night?" she asked to make conversation.

Akama paused for a second before giving a mischievous smile. "It's a secret. You wouldn't believe me even if I told you. So we'll just leave it at that."

Applejack humphed as she leveled a small glare. "Ya better not be doin' something wrong. I might just have ta tell the royal guards."

Akama waved her off with his hoof. "Don't be so angry. It's… a bit of a personal issue. It's nothing wrong, but it's something I need to do on my own." He looked out of the nearby window with a sad expression on his face. "Hopefully, you won't get hurt otherwise…" he spoke under his breath. He turned back to Applejack with a smile. "I must thank you for your hospitality, and I need to be on my way. I have a few things that I need to do. Hope to see you again Jackie." He placed his dishes in the sink on his way out the door.

Applejack blushed, surprised. _Jackie?_ She thought before racing out after him. "H-hold on a sec!" she called but he was nowhere in sight. She just stared out on the empty field and wondered how somepony could vanish into thin air.

* * *

Rainbow Dash sighed as she hung her forelegs off the branch she was currently using as a bed. She could not believe her luck. First: she took cloud clearing duty for some extra hours, but it only took her less than five minutes to clear not only Ponyville, but its surrounding area. Second: She over heard that the Wonderbolts where doing an air show later in the week, and the tickets where all sold out. Finally: Scootaloo was off crusading and could not hang out. This left her a very bored pegasus.

"Why do I need to be so awesome?" she asked the sky as she rolled over on her belly and stared at small animals running through the meadow. She sighed again and wished that one of her friends was with her. At least she would have somepony to talk to.

As she was watching a butterfly, she spotted a strange shadow slowly move its way across the field. She blinked and stared at it confused. _What's that?_ She then turned her attention to the sky to see a large cloud lazily floating. She blinked again and flew up to the cloud.

"Okay, this is strange," she said out loud. "I _know _I cleared the sky almost a half-hour ago." She flew around the cloud, her confusion growing. "And when I clear a sky, it's suppose to _stay_ clear. Where did you even come from anyway?" After a moment Rainbow slapped her head with her hoof. "I must be really bored to be talking to a cloud. Anyway, if there's a cloud in the sky, I won't get paid. You've gotta go."

She flew a distance away and lined up her sights with the offending object. In an instant, she bolted forward at high speeds, intending to disperse the cloud in one hit. As soon as she burst through, the wake left by her flight popped the cloud like an over inflated balloon. "That was aw-"

"AAAAAAAH!"

"Aaaah?" Rainbow Dash turned her head and her eyes bulged as she saw somepony in a cloak falling. "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" She quickly changed her direction and increased her speed to try and catch the flailing pony. Rainbow's mind was going a mile a minute. _Who takes a nap on clouds? Besides me. Don't they know today is suppose to be clear? Where did the cloud even come from? Who is this pony anyway? If they're pegasai, why aren't they flying?_ These and other thoughts raced through her mind as she closed in on her, unintentional, victim. As she got close enough, she could see that the pony was bigger than her, meaning that she could only slow his fall. She pumped her wings as hard as her body would let her and flew beneath the falling pony. She opened her fore legs and prepared for the impact with closed eyes.

When nothing happened she cracked an eye open to see the cloaked figure standing in the air above her. Rainbow rubbed her eyes and looked again to make sure she was seeing things right. The cloaked pony that was flailing around a moment ago was now literally staring down at her with and annoyed expression. Rainbow Dash flew up slowly. "How…?" was all she was able to say.

An agitated sigh was her only response. The figure then turned and started "walking" away while shaking its head.

Rainbow Dash appeared in front of him again. "Look, I-I'm sorry…" She apologized as she looked away while rubbing the back of her neck. "I had no idea that somepony was in that cloud. If I did…" She was cut off by the figure raising a hoof.

"I don't want to hear it," he stated with a small amount of anger in his voice. "You're lucky I was able to recover in time."

Rainbow started to bristle at that statement. "Hey, I was about to catch you, you know."

The figure snorted. "And the both of us would become dirt pancakes. Trust me, you're nowhere strong enough."

That was a blow to her ego. Rainbow shoved her face right in other pony's with an angry expression. "Is that so? I happen to be the best flyer in Ponyville. So I happen to know a thing or two about how strong I am." She stared unblinking into his two colored eyes.

The figure gently pushed the cyan pegasus out of his personal space. "If you had half the strength needed to catch me, you would be too heavy with muscle to be 'the best flyer' as you put it." He gave a dark chuckle. "Now, if you could excuse me I…" he trailed off as he started to look around. "You hear that?" he asked Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow tilted her head confused until a sound reached her ears. It was faint at first, but seemed to be getting louder by the second. Soon she was able to make out what it was: Cries for help.

Rainbow quickly looked around to see where the cries were coming from. Suddenly, she spotted a raft on the river below her and the cloaked colt. The river was one of the larger ones near Ponyville. It had a gentle current most of the time, but would get fast and wild after heavy rains. Like the one they had the other day upriver. She gave a startled gasp as she recognized the three fillies riding the wooden raft towards the rapids. It was the Cutie Mark Crusaders: Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.

"Oh no! Hang on girls, I'll save you!" Rainbow yelled as she sped down towards the out of control raft. She pushed herself as hard as she could without making a sonic rainboom, one of those would cause more harm than good right now.

Suddenly, the raft hit a rock and sent Scootaloo flying. Dash quickly caught her little sidekick then realized she did not have enough strength to race after the raft with a passenger. She gasped as she saw that the raft was about to collide with a large rock in the middle of the river.

A red and gray blur flew past her and landed on the rock. Rainbow Dash barely had enough time to recognize the pony as the one she was just arguing with before her mind went blank with awe.

The figure stood on the boulder and gave a deep breath before trusting his forelegs apart. At that instant, the river parted along its middle right under the raft, causing it to fall on the muddy bottom. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked around to see two rivers flowing in the middle of the air and a cloaked pony walking over to them. He flicked his head towards his back, indicating that they should climb on. After they did, the pony stomped once with one of his back legs and the raft flew out of the riverbed to the open field. The pony then walked out of the bed with the two fillies. As soon as they where clear he raised his left fore hoof and slowly lowered it. This seemed to put the river back to normal.

"You can get off now," he stated simply. They climbed off as Rainbow Dash flew over with Scootaloo. The three fillies shared a group hug before looking at their rescuers.

"Th-thank you," Sweetie Belle stammered as she nervously glanced at colt.

"That was AWSOME!" cried Rainbow Dash, her earlier anger completely forgotten. "I've never seen magic like that before. How'd ya do that?"

"Um, what's yer name?" asked Applebloom. "I'm Applebloom. This is Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo."

"…Akama," was the simple reply. "You girls where extremely reckless. What where you thinking, going down a fast river with rapids? In a wooden raft and no adult with you?" As he spoke his tone rose in anger and worry.

The Crusaders seemed to shrink as they got yelled at. However they could see where he was coming from. "W-well… we wanted to see if we could get our cutie marks in rafting," began Scootaloo.

"We didn't know the river would be so rough," continued Sweetie Belle. "It's usually such a lazy river."

"We're sorry," the tree of them said as one as they bowed their heads.

Akama took a couple of deep breaths before speaking again. "As much as I would like to continue the lecture, I'm not your guardian. I think you should head straight home and tell them what happened, and then accept any punishment they give. Do you understand?" They nodded.

"Hey, don't you think you're being a little harsh?" asked Rainbow Dash as she hovered over the small group. "They said that they where sorry. What more do you want?"

Akama gave the older pegasus a stern glare. "If we weren't here they could've been hurt or worse. They need to know that actions like these have consequences. If not, they will not learn self restraint."

Rainbow waved her hoof with a 'Pshaw.' "Self restraint is boring. If they live their lives all safe and sound, they won't have any real fun."

Akama was momentarily speechless at the over the top attitude. "Listen, Sparky, I've seen foals just like these three _die_ doing reckless stunts. Is it wrong to make sure that there is a new generation to take over for the old idiots?"

Rainbow landed a stomped up to the larger pony. "What did you call me?" she asked with a treating tone.

Akama seemed unimpressed. "Sparky or idiot?" he responded.

"That's it!" she cried as she took a swing at Akama. She quickly found herself on he back with the cloaked pony standing over her again.

"Calm down," he said seriously. "Is this the type of example you want to show these fillies?"

Rainbow glanced at the crusaders and grimaced. She knew that she was a hot head, but that did not mean that all problems should be solved with violence. That was a really uncool action she pulled. She took a couple of deep breath to try and calm down.

"If I let you up, are you going to try and hit me again?" Akama asked.

Dash shook her head. "No, and I'm sorry. I let my anger get the better of me."

Akama smiled as he helped Rainbow to her hooves. "Glad you saw to reason, Sparky. I'd hate to beat you up in front of your fans." He started to chuckle to show that he was not too serious.

"Why are you calling me 'Sparky'?" asked Rainbow Dash.

Akama pointed to her cutie mark. "I see a bolt out of a cloud. So I figured you had something to do with the weather. Why? Don't you like the name?"

"My name is Rainbow Dash," she replied. "And I got this mark when I first pulled off the Sonic Rainboom," she finished with pride.

Akama gave a low whistle. "That's impressive. When di-" He stopped suddenly and looked towards the forest on the other side of the river with a very angry expression. "Darn it all to Hades. I thought I'd have more time to prepare."

"What are ya talkin' about?" asked Applebloom.

Akama glanced at them out of the corner of his eye. "I highly suggest that the four of you get very far from here, very fast." He focused on the forest again. "It'll be here soon, and I won't have time to foalsit. Now go!"

The Cutie Mark Crusaders started heading back to Ponyville, but Rainbow approached Akama with a slightly curious look. "What will be here soon? I'll have you know, my friends and I have faced a few dangers without any trouble. So what could be so bad that you have to face it alone?"

The ground slowly started to shake in rhythm. Like footsteps, and the shaking got bigger and bigger. A few animals started running out of the woods and across the river, including a large bear. Suddenly a Manticore raced out and leapt towards Akama and Rainbow Dash. Rainbow was about to attack the incoming large cat, but Akama held a hoof in front of her to stop her. As the Manticore reached the ponies, it leapt over them and continued to run away. Rainbow stared after the large beast with confusion.

_What could scare a creature that big?_ Rainbow thought. _The only thing I can think of is a dragon, but there aren't any around here… Right?_ At that moment there was a loud crash at the edge of the forest. A very large cloud of dust and dirt obscured what made it.

"It's here…" Akama growled. "I really prefer you all to be far far away now." A shadow figure was starting to form in the cloud. "This will get ugly fast…"

Rainbow laughed nervously to hide her fear. "What could be ugly about a giant dust bunny?" A large growl/roar erupted from the cloud as it started to clear.

"Wh-what the hay is that?!" exclaimed a scared Applebloom.

As the dust settled, everyone could finally see what it was. It was, indeed, ugly and as big as an adult dragon. It stood on two legs with what looked like animal furs wrapped around its waist. Its torso was muscular and bare. Its two arms where long and ended in hands with claw-like nails. It held a large stone club in its right while its left was scratching its stomach. What really got the Ponyville pony's attention was the head. Long black hair covered the head as two yellow horns stuck out. The creature's eyes where giant red orbs that sat above the scariest feature, the mouth. The mouth seemed to take up half the face, big enough to eat a pony in one bite, and seemed to be made of nothing but large sharp teeth. The brownish-purple creature gave another roar as it looked around.

Akama smirked as he looked over the creature. "Just one of ya? This will be easier than I thought. You _Oni_ are all the same…" He looked back at the near petrified ponies. "You might want to go get some help." The four of them nodded and ran off leaving Akama alone with the giant beast. "Now that the distractions are gone, let's dance!" He charged at _Oni _without a second thought. The creature seemed to take notice and brought its club around to smash the little bug.

_To Be Continued…_

**A/N:** So what did you think? Let me know, please? By the way, Akama is NOT gonna be a Gary Stew. A least not ALL the time…


	2. Big Battle

**Disclaimer**: Don't own "My Little Pony." I DO own Akama. He sleeps at the foot of my bed.

Chapter 2-Big Battle

Rainbow Dash flew and the Cutie Mark Crusaders ran as fast as they could. _I need to get the others,_ Rainbow thought. _But even I can't look around Ponyville fast enough to make it in time to help._ Rainbow glanced at the young fillies. "Applebloom, Sweetie Belle. I need the two of you to get your sisters. Tell them to meet at Twilight's." The two of them nodded as they split off towards their homes. "Scootaloo, I need you to get to Sugar Cube Corner and tell Pinkie Pie the same thing. We need to hurry if we want to help this guy."

"What about you?" asked the young pegasus.

"I'm gonna get Fluttershy, then meet you all at Twilight's. If you run into her, tell her to high tail it home," Rainbow responded with tone worthy of a leader. Scootaloo gave a quick salute then ran off. Rainbow took a deep breath before flying off to Fluttershy's cottage. _I'm starting to get sore…_

* * *

Twilight Sparkle stared in confusion as tree of her best friends suddenly bust in on her studying with worried looks on their faces. After they explained what brought them there, she became even more confused. It was when Spike yelled "INCOMING," which indicated that Rainbow Dash was about to crash land that she decided to finally get some answers.

Twilight walked over to the pile of books that covered both pegasai after the crash, and levitated them away. "Now, would somepony please tell me why we're all here?" she asked annoyed. Fluttershy just shrugged as Rainbow Dash huffed, trying to get her breath. Twilight's faced softened as she saw how exhausted her friend was. "Spike, please get Dash some water."

"On it," the baby dragon replied as he disappeared into the kitchen, then retuned with the requested item. As soon as he set it down in front of the cyan pegasus, she gulped it down.

"Thanks, I needed that," said Rainbow.

"Now can you tell us what's so important that we all needed to be here?" Twilight asked again.

"Right. There's a HUGE monster like I've never seen out by the river to the South," Rainbow began as she stretched her wings to keep them loose. "The crusaders and I met a crazy pony who's fighting that thing all by himself. We've got to go and help."

"A m-m-monster?" stuttered Fluttershy. "Eeep!" she cried as she dove under Twilight's desk and started shivering.

Twilight sighed at the yellow pegasus' reaction to anything remotely freighting. "AJ, could you take care of Fluttershy?"

The orange mare nodded. "On it Twi."

The unicorn then turned back to Rainbow. "What is this 'monster' that you said you saw?"

Rainbow looked shocked as she stared at Twilight. "You think I'd make something like this up? As we waste time here, that Akama is gonna get pounded into pudding."

"I like pudding," quipped Pinkie with her ever present smile.

Applejack turned to Rainbow with a surprised look. "Did ya say the pony's name was Akama?" Rainbow nodded. "Was he wearing a large dark gray cloak?" She nodded again. "Twilight, I ran into that pony this morning. He said that he had to take care of something."

Rainbow nodded feverously. "Yes! He seemed to be waiting for that creature. He called it something… What was it? Oh-key, Oh-me, Oh-knee… That's it! _Oni,_ he called it an _Oni_."

Twilight paled as she looked at her friend. "Are you sure? Like 100% sure?!" her voice started cracking. When the pegasus nodded, Twilight bolted for the door. "What the hay are you waiting for? We need to move, NOW!" The rest of them looked at each other before chasing the panicked pony.

* * *

As they ran, Twilight continued to talk to herself. Mostly about how what they where about to see would be impossible. Rarity finally had enough.

"Darling, would you please fill the rest of us in?" she asked as she ran along side the purple unicorn. "What is an _Oni_? And why does it have you so panicked?"

Twilight spared an apologetic glace before facing forward again. "You all have heard of ogres, right?" As they all nodded, she continued. "An _Oni_ is like an ogre, only bigger, meaner, and more powerful. They are resistant to most magic, making them incredibly hard to fight. I don't think even the Elements of Harmony will be able to help us."

"Then why are we rushing into certain doom?" asked Applejack sarcastically with Spike riding along.

"We aren't going to fight the monster. We're going to rescue the idiot who thinks it's a good idea to fight a demon." Twilight looked up at Rainbow Dash. "How much farther?"

Before Rainbow could respond, a loud crash sounded and the ground shook, knocking the ponies off their hooves. An even louder roar quickly followed this. Fluttershy covered her head with her forelegs and started whimpering.

Rarity gulped as she looked in the direction that the noises came from. "Wh-was that…?"

Rainbow nodded. "I think we're close."

Pinkie Pie suddenly popped her head out of a nearby bush. "Hey, guys! You've gotta see this! It's really neat!"

Twilight gave a frustrated groan. "Not now Pinkie. We don't have time to look at a frog, strange rock, weird root, or anything right now."

Pinkie sighed in disappointment. "And here I thought watching a pony beat up a huge-normous monster would be interesting."

"WHAT?!" cried the others as they ran through the bushes. They all stopped when they came upon the meadow that now looked like a battlefield.

* * *

Akama grinned at the _Oni_ as he sidestepped another swing of the stone club. "I have to say, you're starting to bore me," he mocked the large demon. "Come on! My granny can move faster than that." The demon roared angrily as it swung the club straight down on the red pony. Akama smirked. "_Acclerato_…"

When the club landed, Akama was nowhere near the impact zone. A red and gray blur ran up the _Oni's_ other arm and stopped next to its head. Akama turned and gave a strong buck to the side of the monster's face. "How'd ya like that?" he continued to mock the monster.

The _Oni_ glared at the pony on its shoulder then swung its club around. Akama saw this and jumped down just before the club reached him. This resulted in the _Oni_ bashing itself in the head. The large creature wobbled for a moment then fell over. Akama sighed as he watched the monster fall. "Too easy. Now for the banishing portal." He turned around and started drawing in the dirt while chanting in an old language.

Unknown to him, Twilight Sparkle and her friends where watching in awe. It was probably a good thing that they where there as they saw the _Oni_ slowly rise back up.

"LOOK OUT!" yelled Twilight.

Akama glanced behind him in time to dodge another attack of the club. "Hey! I was doing something there. That club's gotta go." He quickly ran up to the side of the club while jamming his hoof at it. "Breaking Point!" The club suddenly exploded into shrapnel, imbedding several pieces into the _Oni's_ right hand. The demon cried out in anger and pain as Akama stood confidently in front of it. "What are ya gonna do now, huh?" The _Oni_ grabbed a nearby tree and uprooted it in one pull. It then swung its new weapon down at Akama, who barely dodged the attack and the flying debris. "Okay, note to self: Don't give time for the enemy to think."

Twilight stared as Akama continued to dace around the wild attacks, while shouting insults or landing a few of his own attacks. She could not believe that a single pony was able to fight an _Oni_ to a standstill. All of he books told of how _Oni_ where able to slaughter armies of ponies before they where taken out. _How is this even possible?_ She thought.

"Yee-ha! Go get 'im!" cried Applejack. "I don't know how's he doin' this but it sure is amazing."

"I'll say," agreed Rarity. "Thou his choice of fashion could use a bit of work." Applejack rolled her eyes then continued to cheer for Akama.

Rainbow Dash could not believe what she was watching. The pony she met barely an hour ago was moving around a giant like it was nothing. His speed on the ground was almost as fast as hers in the air.

"Woo Hoo!" yelled Pinkie. "You know what this will call for? A combo 'Welcome to Ponyville' and 'Congrats on Beating Up a Monster' party for the new guy!" Her grin looked like it would split her face in half. Fluttershy just hid under her hooves while glancing at the fight on occasion.

Akama was getting annoyed. The _Oni_ just was not getting tired. Most of the time the creatures he fought would be gasping for air by now. That made banishing them _so_ much easier. He jumped back out of the _Oni's_ range and reassessed his opponent. "I've gotta say, he's one tough S.o.B. He must've been out here longer than I thought…" He carefully eyed his enemy for any spots of weakness. Unfortunately, the _Oni_ was bored of waiting and threw a large rock at the red stallion. Akama saw this and evaded… right into the tree club.

* * *

Twilight and her friends gasped as they watch the mysterious pony get knocked back like a baseball. He was flung towards them and landed in a heap at their hooves.

"Oh my gosh! Is he okay?" asked Rainbow Dash.

Twilight gave the rainbow mane mare an irritated look. "Would you be?" she shot back. Twilight slowly approached the fallen pony, being careful to not draw the _Oni's_ attention. As soon as she touched the cloak, she felt movement. Suddenly the stallion raised his head and looked around.

"Anypony get the number of that taxi?" he asked dazed while his eyes spun in different directions. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "Ow… Okay, no more Mr. Nice Pony. You had your chance." As he started to get up, Twilight stood in front of him with a concerned expression.

"What are you doing?" worry evident in her voice. "That thing is crazy strong."

"No, really?" Akama replied sarcastically.

Twilight ignored the tone. "Why are you fighting that thing?"

Akama looked at the _Oni_ to see that it had yet to cross the river, then looked at the purple unicorn in front of him. "Short answer: If I don't get rid of that thing, here and now, it will move on to the nearest town. I'd rather not have the blood of innocents on my hooves." He walked past the smaller pony with a determined look on his face.

Twilight decided to try again. "How do you plan on stopping it?" she asked, turning to the colt.

Akama did not turn around. Instead he undid the latch on his cloak and tossed it aside. The cloak landed with a loud 'Thud' making more than one pony wonder what it was made of. At that moment the ponies got a full view of Akama, and they could not believe their eyes.

Akama stood as tall as any adult colt, but had more build, and his dark red coat blended nicely with his coal black mane and tail. What drew attention was cutie mark; it was unlike anything the girls had ever seen before. A pair of swords, one with a white blade and the other a black, crossed each other with the white one on top. The swords where thin, long, and slightly curved. Around the swords where five strange symbols, each one was a different color.

Akama smiled as he slipped a ring over his horn. "Now the real fun begins." He then flexed his wings and ran back into the fight.

Twilight stared at the retreating form of the red stallion. "He's an alicorn… just like the princesses… HOW IS THIS POSSIABLE?!" she cried in surprise and frustration.

* * *

Akama charged the _Oni_ with renewed vigor. "You're in trouble now, big boy. You should've been good and let me send you home. Now, you're gonna get hurt." He opened his wings. "Dragon's Roar!" With one beat of his wings, a pair of tornados appeared and headed towards the demon.

The _Oni_ looked confused for a moment, until the attack hit. The winds picked up any and every piece of debris and hurled them at their target. The demon cried in anger as it was continuously assaulted.

Akama smiled as he neared the dual windstorms and took flight. Seeming to ride the very tornados that where attacking the monster. When he reached the apex, his horn started to crackle. "Dragon's Wrath!" he called as a lighting bolt shot from his horn and struck the demon, knocking it down. Akama quickly pointed at the _Oni's_ feet with his fore hooves. "Dragon's Gaze!" Blue beams left his hooves and when they hit their target, ice formed until it covered both feet. The _Oni_ started clawing at the ice to free itself.

Akama lowered himself to the ground. "Now, maybe I can finish what I came here to do." He started writing in the dirt again.

* * *

Twilight sat down hard in surprise. Never in all of her years of study had she came across anything even resembling the spells the red alicorn just displayed. Each one was powerful enough to damage a creature that was supposed to be nearly immune to magic. It did not make any sense.

"You're gonna start catching flies if you keep it open like that," commented Pinkie Pie as she gently closed Twilight's gaping mouth.

"And I thought parting the river and standing on nothing but air was awesome," Rainbow said as she walked over to try and get a better view. "But what he just did was AMAZING!"

"What the hay?" Applejack cried in surprise.

Rainbow turned to her friend. "What is it?"

Applejack pointed to Akama's cloak. "I can't lift this thing."

Rainbow Dash looked questionably at Applejack. The two of them where some of the most athletic ponies in Ponyville, for Applejack to say something was heavy… Rainbow had to see for herself. She walked over and tried to lift a corner of the cloth, but could barely lift it half way off the ground. As she dropped the garment, she remembered what Akama said:

_"…Trust me, you're nowhere strong enough."_

_ That was a blow to her ego. Rainbow shoved her face right in other pony's with an angry expression. "Is that so? I happen to be the best flyer in Ponyville. So I happen to know a thing or two about how strong I am." She stared unblinking into his two colored eyes._

_ Akama gently pushed the cyan pegasus out of his personal space. "If you had half the strength needed to catch me, you would be too heavy with muscle to be 'the best flyer' as you put it..."_

Her eyes widened as she realized something else. "He was moving as fast as me with this on. How strong is this pony?"

* * *

Akama smiled as he finished drawing the last rune. He turned to see the _Oni_ finish freeing itself and rise to its feet. Akama smirked. "Not this time." He levitated up and started making gestures with his fore hooves while chanting in the same old language as before. The demon tried to charge at the pre-occupied pony, fully intent on destroying its tormenter.

With a loud: "HA!" Akama pointed both his forelegs at the ground below the _Oni_. A black circle formed and started to drag the demon into itself. The monster, of course, started to resist. Akama focused more on the spell he was using which seemed to make the ring on his horn glow. "Come on… stop… strug…geling…" He grunted out through clenched teeth. The demon was slowly being consumed by whatever darkness made the circle. "That's… it…" Akama smiled a little as he saw more than half of the monster was gone.

The _Oni_ suddenly made a wild swing with its tree club, hurling it at the red alicorn. Akama easily moved out of the projectile's way and was going to finish the job when he heard screams of terror.

* * *

The six friends watched in continued awe as the giant was slowly vanishing into a black void. Some were impressed with the alicorn, some were star struck, while others where a bit afraid. Their awe was quickly turned to horror as they watched the _Oni's_ tree club head right for them. Twilight and Fluttershy screamed and closed their eyes.

When nothing happened, Twilight dared a look and she saw the tree frozen in mid air. She stared at it confused, neither she nor Rarity were strong enough to levitate something that large. So who was doing it?

"Could… ya move… a bit… faster?" came an extremely strained yell.

Twilight blinked and moved so that she was out of he tree's path. She gasped as she saw Akama with a pained expression, as he seemed to be both holding the tree and continuing his other spell. The light around his horn was brighter than before and seemed to be flashing wildly. Twilight quickly grabbed Fluttershy, who had fainted, and made her way to the rest of their friends, who had been able to get out of the way.

Akama gave a small sigh as he let the tree drop and refocused on banishing the _Oni_ once and for all. He appeared to pump more energy into his spell. This made the giant disappear faster into the void. Soon, it was gone, and Akama floated slowly to the ground breathing hard with sweat dripping down his face. The black hole vanished as soon as he landed. He was unaware of the small cracking sounds coming from his ring.

Twilight slowly approached the exhausted alicorn with a bit of uncertainty. Her friends where close behind, each eager to express their feelings of the battle. Her head was a whirlwind of questions that she wanted to have answered, that she did not know where to start. She watched as Akama walked tiredly over to his cloak and fold it up. He glanced at her once then waved her and her friends over.

As they neared him, they unintentionally surrounded him. Each pony was bursting with curiosity, even Fluttershy. Twilight decided to speak first. "Um… Thank you for saving us from that… creature," she said sincerely.

Akama continued to try and catch his breath. "It was… nothing…" he began as he plopped down on his plot. "I was… tracking that… thing for… weeks…" He turned to look at Twilight. "What're… you all… doing here…?"

Twilight was about to answer when a strange noise grabbed her attention. She glanced around as her ears flicked to find out where it was coming from. Her eyes fell on the ring around Akama's horn and she raised an eyebrow. "Um… did you know you ring seems to be breaking?"

Akama raised his own eyebrow in confusion. "What are you talking… about? This thing," he pointed at the ring, "is impossible to break." He finished with a tired smile.

Pinkie zipped up and stared at the ring intensely. "If it can't break, then why are there many many many cracks all over it?"

Akama barely managed a "Huh?" before rays of light started shooting out of the ring. Suddenly it exploded in a large ball of light that covered all seven of the ponies. Twilight was scared at first, but became calm, as the light did not harm her. Instead it seemed to warm her from the inside. It was a very comforting feeling, like meeting a long lost family member. She could not put it into words. As suddenly as the feeling started, it vanished as well, when the ball of light rose into the sky then dispersed like a giant firework. Twilight turned back to Akama to ask what that was, and gasped.

Akama was lying on his side and his black hair was now white. She quickly rushed to his side then paled as she turned to her friends with a horrid expression. "He's not breathing…"

_To Be Continued…_

**A/N:** Yeah I know… two cliffhangers right off the bat. I must be some sort of SoB, but I really couldn't think of a good place to end the chapters. I personally try and write each chapter of my stories the same length, so this is about average. I'm not a strong writer, so updates will be whenever I can sit long enough to let my butt fall asleep. Review if you like.


	3. Unexpected Help

**Disclaimer:** Don't own, Hasbro does. OCs can be rented at a reasonable rate, cash only.

Chapter 3-Unexpected Help

Twilight felt like she was having a panic attack. "He's not breathing," she repeated. She looked at her friends, all of them looked scared and/or shocked. "What are we going to do?" She started gnawing on her hoof.

Surprisingly, Fluttershy was the fist to run to the fallen pony's side. She ran a hoof along his neck and placed her head near his mouth. Her eyes went wide with surprise and worry. "He's still alive!" she exclaimed. "Very weak, but alive."

This seemed to snap Twilight out of her shock and re-focus on the problem at hoof. "We need to get him to the hospital." It was order, not a request. "Rainbow Dash, I know you're tired, but I need you to fly there ahead of us and let them know that we have a pony coming in suffering from severe magic drain."

"Got it!" Rainbow turned and flew off in the direction of Ponyville, leaving a large cloud of dust behind her.

"Wow, she's gone already," gaped Pinkie Pie. "Was Dashie always that fast?"

Twilight ignored Pinkie and turned to Applejack. "AJ, do you think you will be able to carry him all the way back?"

"I think so, Twi," said Applejack. "But we'll need somethin' to tie him on, or he might fall off."

"Um… I can fly along side," began Fluttershy. "You know… to make sure he doesn't fall… if that's okay."

Twilight smiled. "Great idea, Fluttershy. Let's go, we're wasting time." She carefully levitated the red alicorn onto Applejack who took off with Fluttershy flying close. Twilight watched them go for a moment when a rustling in the nearby bushes grabbed her attention. She looked at the bush until her dragon assistant wobbled out.

"What happened?" moaned Spike as he looked like he just woke from a nap. "Did I miss anything important?"

"Spike!" called Twilight. "What happened to _you_? Didn't you see the fight?"

Spike seemed to blush as he scratched the back of his head. "I kinda… fainted after seeing the monster. Sorry."

Twilight rolled her eyes but decided not to chastise the young dragon. The _Oni_ was pretty terrifying. "Spike, I need you to send a letter to the princess immediately. Mark it urgent."

Spike pulled a quill and paper from behind his back. "Okay…" He was a little unsure as to the importance of the letter. "I'm ready."

Twilight took a deep breath. _This might get long._ "Princess Celestia, I write you with confusing news that I believe that needs to be brought to your attention…"

* * *

Rainbow Dash flew towards Ponyville at top speed. "I don't know why, but I feel like I have more energy than I did this morning." This is unusual considering that she nearly passed out at the library. She blinked as she saw her destination come into view. "I'm here already? That took me less than half of my normal time." She shook her head. "I'll worry about it later. I need to talk with the docs." She busted through the main doors. "I need somepony's help!"

* * *

Fluttershy continued to keep Akama from falling off Applejack's back as the farmer pony ran as fast as she dared. Fluttershy could not help but notice that her friend was running faster than she had ever seen before. The fact that she kept pace without feeling tired did not escape her either. _I wonder why I feel more athletic than ever?_ She looked at the unconscious alicorn. _Did it have something to do with that light?_ A small moan broke her train of thought.

"Is he wakin' up?" asked Applejack.

"I don't know," Fluttershy replied. She brought her head close to the colt's face. "Are you okay? Can you tell us what you need?"

One of Akama's eyes barely opened to look at Fluttershy. "Ten… she…?" came the nearly inaudible response. He then glanced away. "Mah… nah…" He then passed out again.

Fluttershy gasped. "We need to hurry," her voice was full of worry and distress. "Can you go faster Applejack?"

The orange mare gave a smile. "If ya can keep up, then yes." At Fluttershy's nod, Applejack doubled her speed without any difficulty.

* * *

"… Please hurry. Your student, Twilight Sparkle," Twilight sighed as she finished relaying everything that happened. "Now send it."

Spike looked confused. "Are you sure? I mean, it's not like she can do anything right away."

Twilight gave the baby dragon a stern glare. "I don't CARE! She needs to know about this as soon as possible!" Spike flinched from the heat in her words before taking a deep breath and blowing a green flame on the scroll. He watched the enchanted ashes fly away as Twilight walked over to where Rarity and Pinkie where.

"What are you girls doing?" Twilight asked confused. Rarity turned and levitated a piece of metal over to her. "What is this?" Twilight was getting more confused.

"I think it is a piece of his ring," said Rarity as she turned back around to look at the ground. "I have a feeling it is important. So I thought of collecting the pieces, and Pinkie is helping."

"I sure am," the party pony smiled.

"How are you helping?" asked a doubtful Twilight.

Pinkie scoffed. "Duh! I saw where each of the pieces landed after the ring gave the super-amazing light show. Didn't you?"

Twilight blinked. Most of the time, Pinkie was hyper and almost scatterbrained, and then she does things that seem extremely gifted. _She's always a surprise,_ Twilight thought. "Do you have them all?"

"I think so," said Rarity. "I just don't know where to put them."

"Hang on!" cried Pinkie. She ran over to a nearby pile of rocks and stuck her hoof in one of the openings. She then pulled out a small cloth bag with a tie. "I always keep bags like these all over the Ponyville area, for just such emergencies." Her trademark grin was on as she handed the bag over to Rarity.

The unicorns blinked at their pink haired friend, but still took the bag and placed the pieces inside. Twilight looked over at the folded cloak sitting nearby. "What should we do with that?" she asked.

Rarity shook her head. "I tried to lift that thing with my magic, but nothing happened. Also, Applejack and Rainbow Dash couldn't lift it either. It's very strange, Darling."

"Well, we won't get any answers standing around here, let's get to the hospital." Twilight levitated Spike onto her back as the three of them headed towards Ponyville.

* * *

Applejack and Fluttershy paced in the waiting room of the hospital, while Rainbow Dash flew in circles above them.

"I can't believe how fast the two of you got him here," commented Rainbow. "I mean, you where running faster than when we raced in The Running of the Leaves."

"I can't explain it, Rainbow," said Applejack as she stopped pacing for a moment. "He should've been slowing me down, but I barely felt the weight. Even Fluttershy was keeping pace."

Fluttershy shyly blushed. "I just wanted him to be safe…"

Applejack looked towards the door they took Akama through as soon as they arrived. "I sure hope he's gonna be okay."

"Me too," added Fluttershy. Rainbow just nodded as she continued to fly in nervous circles. They turned when they heard the main doors open to reveal the rest of their friends.

"How is he?" asked Twilight with more than a little worry.

Applejack just shook her head. "After we got here, they took him and we ain't heard nuthin' since."

Twilight gave a small sad sigh. "I wish I knew what was going on. Anyway, I sent a letter to the princess. Hopefully, she will have some ideas on how to help."

"Indeed I do, my faithful student," came a new voice.

Everyone turned to see the Sun Princess standing before them. Everypony bowed as soon as they got over the initial shock. Twilight was the first to find her voice. "Princess, I did not expect you to respond to my letter in person."

Celestia gave a small smile. "I need to see the pony for myself, before I can figure the right way I can help. Is there anything else anypony can tell me about this alicorn?"

Fluttershy seemed like she wanted to say something, but looked away instead.

Applejack rubbed the back of her neck. "He seemed ta wake up for a moment, while I was carrin' him. I think he said somethin' but I couldn't hear it." She looked at the yellow pegasus. "Did ya hear it, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy nodded. "It didn't make any sense though."

"Please," asked the princess. "Anything can help." Her eyes where desperate, even scared.

Fluttershy sighed. "He only said two things: 'ten-she' and 'mah-nah.' I have no idea what either of those things mean."

Rainbow snickered. "He called for his 'Mama?' That's hilarious."

A stern glare from the princess silenced her immediately. "Please show some respect, Miss Dash. Also, I believe he was saying 'Mana.' If that is the case, he is more danger than we first thought."

As the others started to worry over what trouble could the young stallion be in, a doctor entered the waiting room, still dressed in scrubs.

"Are you the ponies who brought in the uh… alicorn?" he asked, unused to using the term.

Twilight stepped forward. "Yes, is everything alright?"

The doctor cleared his throat, as he removed his surgical mask. "Yes and No. He had a few other injuries that we addressed, but his vitals are below where they need to be. They're steady for now, but if they fall…" He looked at the group seriously. "His life would be in danger."

The mares looked at each other before Twilight spoke again. "Can we see him?"

"We have placed him in the ICU for now. Regulation say that only family are allowed there," he added regretfully.

"I think you can make an exception, just this once," stated Princess Celestia.

The doctor blinked then bowed. "No disrespect, Your Majesty. However, the rooms are small, only big enough for about three of you."

The princess nodded in understanding. "I will accept those terms. Now I wish to see this stranger who apparently saved us all."

The doctor looked confused but nodded. "O-of course. I will have a nurse show you the way." He then departed.

"If only two of us, plus Celestia, can go…" Twilight looked at her friends. "Who wants to stay?"

"As much as I want to, darling," began Rarity. "I promised Sweetie Belle that I'd be home as soon as that monster was defeated. I'm sure she's a nervous wreck."

Applejack nodded. "Same here. I gotta get back home and let Applebloom know what's goin' on."

"I'm sure Scootaloo knows that I'm safe," said Rainbow Dash, full of her usual bravado. "But it couldn't hurt to tell her myself."

Pinkie gasped. "I just remembered! I've got to make a triple-super party!"

"Triple?" asked Rainbow.

Pinkie looked up at the cyan pegasus. "Duh! A 'Welcome to Ponyville,' a 'Congratulation on Beating-Up the Monster,' and a 'Happy That You Got Out of the Hospital' party. I've got a lot of planning to do." She dashed out of the waiting room only to return a second later. "Do you think a six-tier cake is too much?"

"Yes," replied every one of her friends.

"Okie-Dokie-Lokie," she chimed as she sped off again.

As her friends left with a promise to check in later, Twilight turned back to her mentor. "Princess Celestia, you said that if he asked about 'Mana' that his life is in trouble?"

Celestia nodded. "It's rather complicated, and not really my place to say. I hope you understand," she said a bit sadly.

"Of course, Princess." She levitated a piece of paper and a pencil and wrote down a few titles. "Spike, could you run to home and get these books ready for me, please?"

"I guess," Spike shrugged, until he saw the list and groaned. "Twilight… These are some of the largest books in the library."

"I know. They have the most information I need," she stated like she was about to play a game. Spike sighed and walked out the door, leaving Twilight, Princess Celestia, and Fluttershy alone in the waiting room. Soon a nurse walked in and motioned them to follow her.

* * *

As they stood in the ICU Twilight could hear Fluttershy try and hold back tears. The yellow pegasus' heart was so large, any kind of suffering hurt her, and Akama looked like he was suffering.

He was laying on the standard hospital bed with both his forelegs bandaged and an IV in his right one. An oxygen mask fogged with every one of his weak breaths while another machine beeped in a slow consistent rhythm. The rest of his body was covered with blankets.

Celestia looked at the beeping machine with a concerned expression. "His heart rate and blood pressure are low, just as the doctor said. Most ponies would be in critical condition with these numbers." She walked to Akama's bedside and looked closely at his mane. "You said in your letter that his hair used to be black?"

Twilight did not understand the purpose of the question. "Yes. Does that have anything to do with why it's white now?"

The princess shook her head. "No, I just needed to be sure that he was in real danger, the spell could cause harm otherwise." She then shut the shades over the windows, and looked at the two ponies with her. "Now what the two of you are about to see, please don't tell anypony. Nopony should know what I'm about to do."

Twilight and Fluttershy looked at each other with confused expressions. What could this spell be that Celestia needs it to be kept secret? They turned back to the sun princess with a nod.

Celestia closed her eyes and stared muttering in a different language. Twilight instantly recognized it as the same language that Akama was chanting when he set up the banishing spell. Soon, Celestia's horn was surrounded by a ball of light, just like the light Twilight and her friends where covered in not long ago. The ball was smaller, but was just as bright. Celestia seemed to concentrate and move the ball from her horn over to the weak pony. As soon as the ball of light reached him, it vanished into his body. Celestia released a large breath and seemed to tire.

Twilight glanced at her mentor and blinked as she saw a streak of white in Celestia's colorful mane. _What did she do?_ Twilight thought worriedly.

"That should help him," commented Celestia wearily. "He might even wake up soon. I need to get back to the palace now. I want you two to keep an eye on him, and let me know when he wakes up. I have a few questions of my own for him."

Twilight nodded. "Of course, Princess."

"I'll leave one of my guards here. Just tell him when our mysterious guest wakes, and he'll come get me." The sun princess gave a small bow to the two friends, then left.

Fluttershy slowly walked over to Akama and held one of his hooves in her own. She started rubbing it gently while humming. Twilight just watched. She never saw this side of Fluttershy before, even during the event with Celestia's pet phoenix. She had not seen such a caring gesture between two complete strangers.

_Fluttershy is truly kind,_ thought Twilight as a smile came to her lips. "That's a pretty song, what's it called?"

Fluttershy stopped humming and blushed. "I… I don't know. It's just something my mother would do whenever I was sick. I can't think of anything else to do…"

Twilight shook her head. "I can't either. I guess anything is better than doing nothing but sit and worry." Her stomach started to grumble quietly. "I'll get something to eat. Do you want anything?"

"Um… a wheatgrass and clover sandwich would be nice."

"Okay, I'll see what the cafeteria has and be back soon." Twilight turned and walked out of the room while Fluttershy continued to hum the nice melody as she rubbed the red pony's hoof.

Unknown to them, Akama had opened his eyes briefly before falling asleep again. The only thought he had was: Tenshi and Hoshi.

* * *

Over the next few days, the friends plus the crusaders, took turns watching over the red hero. Even Celestia stopped in a couple of times to check up on him. The only positive event was that his vitals where steadily getting stronger. According to the doctors, that meant that he was on the road to recovery. Another interesting event was his hair was slowly regaining its color. Celestia seemed to take this as a good sign, though nopony could understand why.

It was nearly a week and a half since he was brought in when he finally woke up. Fluttershy was humming as usual as Twilight was reading a book and taking notes. Rainbow Dash was hovering above everypony a bit bored. It was her that noticed that Akama was starting to stir.

"Hey, I think he's waking up," she exclaimed as loud as she could without irritating the doctors, again.

Twilight looked up from her studies and hurried over to the bedside with Rainbow. The three mares watched as Akama softly groaned and slowly opened his eyes. He glanced at Fluttershy briefly before moving over to Twilight then Rainbow Dash. A small smile seemed to form behind the oxygen mask.

"It seems… nopony… got hurt…" His soft raspy voice appeared strained.

"Um… would you like some water?" asked Fluttershy as she motioned to the pitcher next to the bed. Akama nodded weakly and she pored a plastic cup full with a straw. "Twilight, could you um… help with the uh… mask?"

Twilight nodded as her horn started to glow. A purple aura surrounded the oxygen mask and gently removed it from Akama's face. The red stallion gave a small nod of thanks before focusing on the water.

"Drink it really slow," advised Fluttershy. "The doctors said you could upset you stomach otherwise."

The bedridden pony did as he was told and took a few slow sips of the cool liquid. He smiled again. "_Arigato Tenshi,_" he said in a voice that seemed more natural.

"Uh… wha?" Fluttershy had a confused look as she continued to hold the cup.

Akama chuckled until he began to cough. "Huh… ow… Guess I hurt more than I thought… Anyway, I was just saying 'thank you' for being nice, Tenshi."

Before the pegasus could ask what that meant, Rainbow hovered over the bed and looked right at Akama. "I just want to know what happened with you," she stated authoritative but with genuine curiosity. "We all thought you died on us."

Akama looked around the room in a slight daze. "I'm in a hospital, aren't I?"

Twilight nodded. "Like Rainbow said, you where all but dead. This was the only place we could think of bringing you."

Akama closed his eyes and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "I want to know what happened to my artifact. Could you please tell me?"

The three mares looked at each other. "What artifact?" asked Twilight.

"My ring," Akama clarified. "It's very important to me. Please."

Twilight bit her lip nervously before sighing and levitated the small bag over to him. "I'm sorry…"

Akama gave her a confused look, unsure what she was apologizing for. As soon as he felt the bag, he felt his heart sink with dread. He moved it around his lap and gave a sad sigh. "So… that's what happened… it explains a lot."

"What do you mean?" asked Twilight, getting a mixture of excitement at learning something new, and worry over the stranger's well being.

Akama shook his head. "I'm not well enough to play Twenty Question right now. However, if you could get me out of here, like sooner than later, I'll be more than willing to answer anything you ask."

"Oh dear," said Fluttershy. "If you're not well, then you should stay here."

Akama gave a small groan as he laid his head back on the pillow. "You don't understand, I can't stand it here. The smells alone make me sick. Trust me, I'll recover a lot faster out of here." He took a few more sips of water. "The energy here is too stagnant. I can't draw out the Mana I need." His eyes bulged as he realized what he just said. "Uh… any chance of you forgetting that last sentence?"

Rainbow grinned. "Not a chance."

Akama sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you all everything, but only after I'm out of here and fully recovered. In that order." His stomach growled loudly. "… and maybe something to eat…"

* * *

"How much further, Hoshi?" Akama asked Twilight in a faux whinny voice.

"Almost there," she replied in monotone. "Why do you care, anyway?"

"Because this is slightly embarrassing," he complained from Applejack's back. "The roles should be reversed."

Applejack looked over her shoulder to send Akama a glare. "It's yer fault, ya know. If ya stayed in the hospital like yer suppose ta, ya could be walkin' yerself."

Akama smiled apologetically at the farmer. "It's not that I don't appreciate what you're doing, Jackie. I just feel uneasy. Normally I'm the hero carrying the rescued mare home on my back."

Applejack's glare vanished as she turned to look forward. "Ya still a hero to us. Still can't believe ya took down something as big as that _Oni_ with only miner injuries."

Akama laughed. "That was an average sized one. You should've seen the one I took down in the middle of the desert last year. I was hurting for months afterwards."

Twilight stopped and stared at the red alicorn. "You fought and defeated an _Oni_ bigger than the one we saw?' She could not believe what he was saying.

Akama saw the disbelief and sighed. "I didn't say I fought it alone. It was a tough battle, with many injuries. If you want more details, I need to be drunk."

Twilight turned around and continued her walk towards her home, the same place that Akama would be spending the rest of his recovery at. She rolled her eyes as she remembered the events that brought them to this position.

Flashback—

Akama was staring at Celestia with a determined expression, while the sun princess returned the stare. Twilight stood near the door watching the battle of wills.

"I'll say it one more time," began the bedridden alicorn. "Either you help me out of here, or you find me gone in the morning."

Celestia gave an annoyed sigh. "That would be a more convincing threat if you could actually walk out of here. You were in a near coma for over a week. Anypony's body would need time and therapy to recover."

Akama grimaced and looked away. "Alright, point to you." He looked at Celestia again with a more sedated expression. "Look, I'll stay anywhere you choose, just not here. I can't move, the odors make me ill, and the constant beeping of these machines are going to make me crazy. Please, help me out here."

Celestia continued to stare at the colt, her face not sowing any discernable emotion. "You have refused to answer nearly every question we ask of you, yet you continue to make a very demanding favor of me. What is to make me believe that you will be true to your word and not leave at soon as you're able?"

Akama closed his eyes, as he seemed to be in deep thought. He slowly opened them and bowed his as far as he could while still in the bed. "I invoke the offer of subjugation."

Twilight became confused as Celestia gave a small gasp. "Are you sure?" asked the princess.

Akama nodded from the bowed position. "I offer myself as a loyal servant of your rule. Your laws are now mine, and I will follow your call as I would my own leaders. I swear that on my honor. Do you accept?"

Celestia seemed to hesitate before nodding. "I accept you into my kingdom, on the condition I can free you at my decision."

"My life is yours to decide to do with," he sat back with a small smile. "Will that suffice?"

"Y-yes," replied the surprised princess. "I'm surprised anypony knows that old custom."

Twilight had enough. "What just happened?"

Akama turned to the purple unicorn. "Sort answer: I swore my allegiance to Princess Celestia, on my honor. I can't do anything against her wishes now. So when I say that I won't run off without answering her questions, I can't. Period."

Celestia gave a reassuring smile to her student. "Don't worry, Twilight. It is a very high honor that I was given." She turned back to Akama. "I'll see what I can do about your release. However, we need to figure out where you will stay as you finish your recovery."

"Um… He can stay with me," said Twilight before she realized the words came out of her mouth.

Celestia looked surprised, then relieved. "That's perfect. I can't think of anypony I trust more."

Akama shrugged. "Anywhere's better than here. So when can we leave?"

End—

"Here we are," said Twilight as the stopped in front of the town library

Akama's eyes grew as he looked at the tree house. "You live _in_ the tree?" he asked with awe.

"Yep."

Akama smiled. "That's great! I know I'll get better faster here."

"Uh… how's that?" asked Applejack as she carried the colt inside.

"A secret," he replied with his hoof to his mouth. "Like I said before, I'll answer everything once I can move around under my own power." He looked away. "I hate using bedpans…" he mumbled under his breath.

"Is there anything you need?" asked Twilight as she levitated Akama off Applejack and set him on a couple of floor pillows.

"Actually, I think I might have left my bags on your farm, Jackie."

The orange mare seemed surprised. "Where'd ya leave 'em?"

Akama chuckled. "In the tree you kicked me out of." Twilight gave Applejack a confused look as the farmer blushed. "Also, do either of you know what happened to my cloak?"

Twilight gave a frustrated sigh. "None of us could move the thing, so it's still in the area where you fought the _Oni,_ sorry."

Akama shook his head. "I'd be surprised if anypony was able to move it, with the spell in place. It should be fine for a couple more days."

Applejack turned towards the door. "If ya don't need me, I'll go fetch his bags." She gave Akama a nervous look. "Unless they have the same spell on them."

"Nope," assured Akama. "They just have my few materialistic possessions and my money. Nothing irreplaceable. Thanks in advance."

Applejack smiled as she said goodbye and left, leaving Twilight and Akama alone.

Akama looked at the unicorn that seemed to become more nervous by the minute, and a mischievous smile crossed his face. _This could be fun…_

_To be continued…_

**A/N:** Yes, I finally finished another chapter. Review if you like this story. Positive feedback is good stimuli for my muse. If I can find a better chair, I'll be able to type more without my butt or legs falling asleep on me.


	4. Surprises: Good & Bad

**Disclaimer**: I do not own MLP-FiM. I do own my OC, Akama.

Chapter 4-Surprises: Good & Bad

Twilight Sparkle slowly woke from a pleasant dream as Celestia's morning sun started to shine through her bedroom window. She let herself a small smile as she enjoyed the peaceful moment. The early morning was one of her favorite times of the day. The quiet that occurs as the night animals head to bed as the day ones awake, always gave the area a serine feel of comfort. She gave a small sigh, as she knew that nopony else was around to share the experience with her. This made her feel a little lonely, but she did not dwell on it as a day full of studying was ahead. She rose out of her bed and made it before descending the stairs that connected to the rest of the library.

"…That's not right…" came a voice the main area.

Twilight blinked. The voice was too deep to belong to Spike and everypony in Ponyville knew that the library did not open until later. So, who was there?

She slowly walked down the steps trying not to be seen or heard. She was soon greeted by a strange sight: Half the library was stacked in towers that nearly reached the ceiling while in the middle sat a red pony with his back to her.

"About time you woke up," he stated without turning to Twilight. "I think I made a bigger mess than I intended."

Twilight's mind suddenly registered the events of the previous afternoon:

Flashback—

Twilight levitated a try with two cups of tea over to where Akama was sitting and reading a book on the local geography. He looked up as he smelled the warm liquid and smiled.

"That aroma is sure pleasing," Akama stated. "What blend is that?"

Twilight shrugged. "Just simple tea, but I do add some honey and lemon. Is that okay?"

Akama grinned. "Actually, that's how I take my tea. It seems we have a bit in common."

Twilight smiled as she sat down near her new roommate. According to the doctors, and Celestia, Akama would need a week of recovery and light therapy before he could function on his own. She had to admit though he already seemed happier and more energetic since getting out of the hospital. As she levitated her cup of tea, she noticed that Akama held the cup carefully with his hooves as he took a few sips.

He quickly felt Twilight's curious look boring holes and turned with a sheepish smile. "I guess this is strange, an alicorn that's not using magic. Well, this one's on the house: I'll be honest with you, I can't fly or use magic." He took another sip of tea before turning back to the book in front of him.

Twilight blinked surprised. "How—I mean, why—that is, what do you mean?" she mattered to stutter out as Akama laughed quietly. She blushed. "Are you playing a prank?" she asked in slight anger.

Akama looked over with a sad expression. "I wish… The real answer is a bit more complicated. I'll explain in more detail when I'm getting questioned by you and your friends."

Twilight's face softened. "That's something I don't get. Why are you waiting to give the answers to our questions?"

Akama sighed. "The short answer to that is, I don't want to repeat myself several times. Also, many of my responses, will only lead to more questions. Better to get them all out of the way at once. Something tells me I'm going to be in this town awhile." He smiled as he looked at ceiling. "Maybe, I'll find a place to stay…"

Twilight did not understand what he was referring to, but decided not to press the issue. As she continued to drink her tea, she heard the front door open and close. She smiled, as only one dragon would walk in without knocking. "Welcome back, Spike," she called. "Did you finish your errand for Rarity?"

"Hey Twilight," replied the small dragon. "Yea, she just needed someone to pick up a package for her. It seems like she's backed up with orders."

Twilight giggled. "Well the Gala isn't that far off. Maybe it has something to do with it?"

Spike shrugged and took notice of the new guest reading quietly next to Twilight. It took him a few moments to recognize the guest as the red alicorn that fought the _Oni_ monster over a week ago. Spike turned to Twilight. "Umm… what's he doing here? Shouldn't he still be in the hospital?"

"That's right, you weren't there. Celestia is having him stay with us while he recovers," Twilight explained. "Apparently, hospitals and him don't mix." She chuckled as she turned to Akama. "Say hi to my assistant and friend, Spike."

Akama glanced over with a slight bored look, until his eyes landed on Spike. His whole body seemed to go ridged and his face contorted to a look of fury. "Dragon!" he yelled in hatred as he tried to get his worn body to move.

Spike jumped from the yell, then hid behind Twilight as Akama struggled to get to his hooves. "What'd I do?" Spike asked in a scared voice.

Twilight stood in front of Akama with an angry expression of her own. "Hold on! What is your problem? Spike hasn't done anything to you."

Akama continued to try and stand but fell hard on his left shoulder. "Dragons… must… pay…" he grunted out through clenched teeth as he tried to block the pain of the new injury. "All… of them…"

Twilight had heard enough and levitated the enraged pony to the other side of the room while shooing Spike with her hoof. The young dragon did not need a second chance as he bolted. Twilight turned her attention back to Akama. "Now start talking. If I have to bring in the princess, I will."

Akama shot the unicorn a glare before turning away. "Short answer: a dragon took away someone very dear to me. So, I hunt all dragons, until I find the one who hurt me. They aren't to be trusted," he finished curtly.

Twilight anger shrunk only slightly after hearing the response, but she did not release him. "I see… You should know Spike has been with me since he was hatched. He's had no contact with other dragons."

Akama appeared to relax slightly. "You speak the truth?" he demanded. Twilight nodded. "How many years?"

"That we've been together?" she paused to think for a second. "I guess it's been about eight years this spring. Why?"

The red alicorn closed his eyes and took several slow deep breaths. This action seemed to remove the remaining tension in his body. When he spoke, his voice was quiet and serious. "I understand… I was in the wrong. I am sorry for my misconduct," he said with eyes still closed.

Twilight was still on guard. "Are you going to try and hurt my friend if I let you go?"

Akama shook his head making his now gray mane sway back and forth. "You say he has done nothing to warrant trouble. Therefore, I shall not attack him. I can't say that I will trust him anytime soon. I hope you can accept that." He looked at her with a sad seriousness.

Twilight sighed as she released the magical hold over the weakened alicorn. "You have to get used to him, he lives here with me."

At that moment Applejack walked in with a pair of saddlebags. She took one look at scene and gulped. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife. "I can see that this is a bad time. I'll come back later…"

-End

"Have you been up all night?" Twilight asked as she levitated another stack of books back to their proper locations.

Akama still did not look in her direction. "Of course not. I slept for a good three hours. The rest of the time I was meditating to get my anger under control. I haven't had to do that in a long while, I was a bit rusty."

Twilight walked over and stood behind the red stallion. "So what's with the books?"

"Research," was the quick reply. "I'm trying to see if something I need is around here. I just spent the last hour or so doing that." He grabbed another book on geography and started reading without looking at his host.

The purple unicorn was starting to get annoyed with the obvious lack of manners the colt was showing her. A complete change from the way he was acting before meeting Spike. She had heard of ponies having deep hatred for each other that would change the way they would act to others, but she had never seen it for herself. She hoped that being around Spike would not become a time bomb of problems.

"How did you get all of the books down?" Twilight asked as she stared at the remaining books. "You can barely move."

Akama sighed as his study was interrupted, again. "Your _Ryu-chan_ wanted to show me that he wasn't a threat. So he gathered them all for me. Now, I'd like to try and make some headway, so could you please stop bugging me?"

"Ri-wha? Who or what are you talking about?"

Akama ignored the question and continued to read while occasionally making a few notes. Twilight huffed a sigh and headed towards the kitchen for some breakfast. As she entered she spotted Spike sitting at the table staring at the wall while rolling a gem absently on the tabletop.

"Good Morning, Spike. Did you sleep well?"

Spike sighed. "Does Akama really hate me?" he asked in a distressed tone.

Twilight walked over and gave the baby dragon a hug. "I don't think he hates _you_ specifically. I think he just hates dragons in general."

Spike rolled his eyes. "Like that's much better…" he deadpanned.

"Well, at least you know it's not personal. Did you try to be friendly?" she asked hopefully.

Spike shrugged. "I gathered the books he wanted, and he thanked me, but… he seemed very detached."

Twilight released Spike and gave him a confused look. "You helped him? So that's who he was talking about."

"Huh?"

"He called you something, I think it was another nickname," she said after thinking about it. "I wonder what's with him and the nicknames…"

Spike nodded. "Yeah, what does he call you? Ho-she, or something?"

Twilight nodded. "I think that's how it's pronounced. I feel like I heard that word before…" She thought for a moment then shook her head. "I'll worry about it later, I need something to eat."

* * *

By mid-afternoon, Akama had a stack of notes nearly as tall as the stacks of books around him. His eyes where blood-shot and there were dark circles forming, but he still continued to read through any and every geography and botany book in the library. Twilight looked over at her guest with more than a little concern. He had barely eaten all day, and admitted to only getting a few hours of sleep. This was not the way to recover one's health.

"I think you need a break," she finally said as she watched the alicorn's head bob slowly.

"I can't stop n…" he tried to hold back a yawn. "… Stop now. I'm so close… I think…" He rubbed his eyes with his hoof and tried to refocus on the page he was reading.

Twilight levitated the book away while giving the red pony a stern look. "Princess Celestia has left you in my care. So I am responsible for your well being. Take it from somepony who has pulled her own share of all-nighters. You need to take a break, and come back to the issue with a fresh mind."

Akama grumbled at first, then sighed and yawned. "Maybe you're right, Hoshi. Could you help me to the spare bed?"

Twilight nodded and stood next to red alicorn to help balance him as he slowly stood up. He gave an embarrassed smile as the two of them walked up the stairs with Akama leaning on Twilight the whole time.

Twilight felt her face redden as they carefully ascended the stairs. Aside from her family, she never had this kind of contact with a stallion before. She was silently thankful that Akama was more focused on walking than her. When they finally reached the spare bed in Twilight's room, Akama flopped on top and was asleep instantly. Twilight rolled her eyes with an amused smile. She carefully levitated him under the covers and closed the blind to keep the room as dark as possible. As she was leaving she heard something that made her pause.

"I'm sorry… I wasn't… strong enough…" Akama whispered in a sad tone. He then rolled over and quiet sobs could be heard.

Twilight quickly left the room and closed the door behind her. Akama seemed to be reliving a painful memory and she had no right to sit in on it. Maybe if they became good friends, and he decided to share… She shook her head. They barely knew anything about each other; it was going to be a while until they became friends. She walked back into the common area that Akama was using for his research and glanced at the notes he was making.

"That's strange…" she muttered as she compared his notes to a couple of her own. "I wonder if…" She smiled as an idea came to her. "Spike, I'm going to need your help," she called.

* * *

Akama slowly stirred under the covers. He opened his green right eye and glanced around the dark room. He could tell it was well after sunset as there was little light coming through the blinds. He was about to return to sleep's embrace when his stomach protested its emptiness.

"I guess a late dinner couldn't hurt," he mumbled to himself as he got out of the bed. He carefully tested his legs' strength and stability before venturing out of the room. "I was right," he smiled. "Getting out of that hospital was the best move. Now if my search turns out to be successful, I'll be golden."

As he neared the common area, he noticed that the lights where still on and his hostess asleep on the table he was using earlier. He chuckled at the irony of the situation. When he reached Twilight he paused, confused. Around the unicorn's head where his notes mixed with some that could have been Twilight's. _Was she continuing my search?_ Akama wondered as he looked over a couple of the pages. _That was nice of her._

As he was about to leave and fill his belly, one sheet grabbed his attention. It was half buried under Twilight herself, but what he could see made him a bit excited. He needed to know what was on the rest of the page.

"Hey," Akama spoke softly as he gently nudged the purple pony. "You're gonna wake up with a back ache if you sleep like that."

Twilight grunted and murmured in her sleep.

Akama laughed softly. He leaned in and whispered right next to her ear. "If you don't wake up, I'll shuffle all the books."

Twilight jumped awake with a startled look on her face. She frantically wiped her head around until she saw Akama laughing his head off. "What's going on?" she asked confused and worried.

The red alicorn stopped long enough to breath and answer her question. "Nothing. I was just trying to wake you up."

Twilight knew there was more going on, but decided not to press the issue. "What are you doing up, anyway?" she asked instead.

He shrugged. "Just getting something to eat when I saw you laying there with a nice puddle of drool by your mouth."

"What?!" Twilight wiped he mouth while looking at the papers on the desk. This only made Akama laugh all over again. Twilight quickly realized that she's been tricked and blushed slightly. "Okay, you got me," she admitted.

"What where you working on so intently?" Akama asked as if he did not already have an idea.

"Well, I was continuing your research, and I think I found what you where looking for." She levitated the piece of paper that was lying under her a moment ago. "Is this what you wanted to find?"

Akama read then reread the contents of the page until he was sure there was no mistake. He looked at Twilight with a grin that was bigger than any of Pinkie's. He then grabbed her in a hug, which surprised the unicorn. "_Hoshi no daiski!_" he cried as he held her.

"Uh… Your welcome?" replied Twilight, who did not understand what was going on. Not that she would complain. The hug was very nice, and felt a bit different than the ones she and her friends shared.

Akama pulled away from Twilight and looked at her with a face full of respect. She felt her face heat up from the closeness and the look he was giving her. Suddenly, Akama leaned in and captured her lips with his own. The kiss caused every part of Twilight's brain to cease function. The warmth of the stallion's lips on hers was new and a bit exciting. It sent a small wave down her back and made her tingle all over. She did not know what to do next, it was all so fast, and her mind refused to start up again.

Akama ended the kiss and smiled at the surprise/shock look on Twilight's petrified face. He smirked. "Was that you're first?" he asked in half seriousness.

Twilight's eyes rolled up into head and she fainted.

"Hmmm…" the red pony mused. "She must still be tired. Now for that dinner."

* * *

The next morning-

"Anypony care ta tell me why I'm here in front of the Everfree Forest at dawn?" asked a very annoyed Applejack. She looked at the three other companions that where with her, Twilight Sparkle, Spike (falling asleep on Twilight's back), and a nearly recovered Akama. Even early in the morning, Applejack could see that Twilight was acting a bit nervous but Akama looked like he was ready to burst with excitement.

" That's simple, Jackie," Akama said with a grin. "You're going to help us through the forest to my destination."

Applejack did not see the amusement. "You had Twilight's owl give me a message in the middle of the night. I thought somethin' bad had happened."

"On the contrary, it was something good," Akama said as he started walking into the forest. "If this is correct, then I will be able to fully recover before the day's over. You're here to help if there is any trouble. To be honest, you two are the ones I trust the most right now. That's why I asked you."

Applejack did not know how to respond to that. She felt a little honored that somepony trusted her, but at the same time it seemed to place a bit of pressure on her. Because she was trusted, she did not want to do anything to betray that trust. She smiled despite herself.

"Now let's go!" Akama cried as he walked ahead with the mares and dragon following.

* * *

"This was unexpected…" Akama deadpanned from Applejack's back.

"Tell me about it…" groused the orange mare as she carefully walked the uneven terrain of the forest.

Barely five minutes of walking and the alicorn tripped and twisted his back right ankle. Twilight suggested heading back, but he insisted on continuing. In order to do that, Applejack was resorted to becoming Akama's personal carrier, again.

"Ya better hope this place ain't to far, or I'm gonna start chargin' ya," the farmer commented in a half joke.

Akama chuckled a little nervously. "It shouldn't be to far. Only about a ten to fifteen minute walk, under normal circumstances."

Twilight turned her head. "You think it's that close?"

"According to your map," Akama stated. "I will know for sure soon." He laughed a little as he looked at the surroundings.

"What's funny?" asked Applejack.

"Hm? Oh, nothing," replied Akama with a smile that said otherwise.

"Uh-huh," she said back, not believing a word.

"Well…" He leaned his head until it was right next to her ear. "I'm starting to enjoy the feel of a strong mare under me," he whispered seductively.

Applejack froze and her whole face turned as red as her brother's coat. She tried to come up with some sort of comeback, but all she was able to do was sputter a few sounds.

Akama took this time to slip off her back and walk towards a narrow path under a pair of trees. "Hoshi! I think we need to go this way," he called to Twilight.

Twilight turned and walked over to the alicorn, but stopped next to her friend, who was still red as an apple. "Applejack? What's wrong?"

Applejack seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in. "Nutthin ya need ta worry 'bout," she stated as she sent a small glare in the red stallion's direction.

Twilight looked in the same direction and saw Akama smile, this caused her to remember the event from last night, and she blushed lightly. She had tried to talk with him about the kiss, but he either avoided the question, or changed the subject all-together, that left her confused and annoyed. She shook her head. Now was not the time to dwell on things.

"Hurry up you two," called Akama as he limped down the path. "It's pretty narrow, be careful."

The mares nodded as they slowly followed the path. Soon they heard Akama gasp and they hurried to catch up. When the walked through a pair of bushes, they came upon an amazing sight, that made them gasp as well. It was a large meadow, with an uncountable number of flowers growing throughout. Colors and hues that had no name covered the petals making the field in the early morning light, look like something out of a dream. A stream snaked through near the opposite side of the meadow. The stream looked cool and clear, the perfect place on a hot day.

Akama slowly walked out into the field, being careful to not walk on any of the flowers. He sat down and took a deep breath. Suddenly, a golden light that seemed to swirl around surrounded him. Spike and the mares watched in slight awe as the light swirled faster and faster until a large flash forced them to close their eyes. When they could see again, all three jaws hit the ground.

Akama was standing tall, his now black mane fluttering in an unseen breeze, and 100% recovered. He grinned as he flexed his legs and did a few jumps. "Ah, much better. Time for a quick test." He turned and in an instant, was running at full speed across the field. When he reached a tree, he jumped, grabbed a branch and swung around it. He then let go and rolled on the ground before running _IN_ the air. It looked like he was running on an invisible road that twisted and turned throughout the sky. Finally, he landed before his companions with a tired smile. "That felt good!" he cried happily.

"Wh-what was that?" stuttered Twilight.

Akama shrugged. "A little warm up. Fastest way to see if everything was working right. I'm now fully healed, so you can tell Celestia-_hime_ that I can answer all of her questions. And all of your friends' as well."

Spike looked a little annoyed. "Why did you say Princess Celestia 'He may' ask you questions now? She's a girl!"

Akama blinked then laughed. "I said _hime_. It means 'princess' where I come from. I sometimes forget that not everypony knows my native language." He looked at the two mares. "You ready to head back?"

As they started walking Applejack turned to Twilight. "Just what was that place?"

Twilight glanced over her shoulder towards the meadow. "It was something he called a 'Mana Spring,'" she replied just as confused. "I guess we can ask him about that now. I'll have to see how soon the princess can make an unscheduled visit." She refocused on the path ahead to make sure she did not get lost.

Applejack smiled. "Just let me know. I'm gonna be bringing Applebloom, I'm sure she has a few questions herself."

"I'm sure Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, feel the same," the unicorn chuckled.

As the finally made their way out of the woods, Akama turned in the opposite direction of Ponyville. When asked why he stated that he was going to retrieve his cloak and meet Twilight back at the library later. Twilight and Applejack headed back to their homes with their minds swimming with the questions they wanted to ask the mysterious stallion.

_To be Continued…_

**A/N:** I hope you all liked this story. I was going to have it be the Q&A episode, but as I wrote, new events started to form. The conflict with Spike appeared on its own as I typed. This happens a few times, and when it does, the chapters get longer than I originally intend. So I have to find new spots to make the cut offs. Hopefully everything will go as planned in the next episode. Until then: JA NE! :D


	5. Questions & Answers?

**Disclaimer**: I do NOT own My Little Pony. I wish I did, and then I would have a lot more money than I do. I do own the OCs that appear. If Hasbro wants to pay me, they can have them.

**A/N:** In this episode I will explain Mana and how I believe it works in relation to "magic." These ideas are how the story will be run. Please take them as is and not start a debate in your reviews. If you have a personal theory that you would like to share, please PM me, and we can discuss it civilly.

**Chapter 5**-Questions & Answers?

Twilight sighed contently as she relaxed in her bathtub. Well, it was more of a giant wooden tub that she and Spike used for bathing. Even though the library had a working pluming system, it lacked a proper bathtub and the washroom was too small to fit one. So, whenever Twilight or Spike wanted to bathe, she had to set the tub up in her bedroom. It was annoying at times, but she enjoyed the extra privacy. She rested her head on the edge of the tub as she looked to the ceiling, lost in thought.

"Today, Princess Celestia will be able to come over," she said out loud. "I hope her arrival doesn't cause too much commotion in town." She sighed again. "I suggested heading to Canterlot, but she said that would be unnecessary. I hope she gets her answers. Akama has made her wait long enough." She took a small breath and pulled her head under the water. _I wonder how long this will take? Princess Celestia can't be away from her royal duties for long._ Twilight broke the surface and shook some of the water from her mane as she reached for her towel.

"Here you go," said a voice as a towel was placed on her hoof.

"Thanks, Spike," she replied happily, until she realized that the voice was much older and deeper. She slowly opened her eyes to see Akama smiling at her. She blushed as she again recalled the kiss he gave her out of nowhere. Akama still refused to talk about it, making it hard for her to know how to act around him. She quickly turned to hide her embarrassment. "W-what are you doing h-here?" she stuttered out.

"Um… you said I could stay with you until I recovered, remember?" Akama replied like it was the most obvious answer.

Twilight felt a small twang of anger as she thought that she was being made fun of. "I mean, what are you doing in my room while I'm taking a bath?" She knew that she posted a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on her door.

Akama shrugged. "I don't see what the big deal is," he casually replied. "Where I come from, families bathe together all the time. Besides…" Twilight tuned her head a bit in curiosity. "… you're not showing off anything you don't already do on a regular basis," he finished with a cheeky grin.

* * *

Spike was just finishing setting up the table with tea and some snacks. Pinkie had tried to make this gathering into another one of her parties, but Akama politely declined. He said that if there was a party, he wanted to enjoy it, and not worry about anything else. Spike half wished that he accepted, then he would not have to be the one to set up everything. A loud bang caused him to jump and look towards the second floor.

Akama slowly walked down the stairs with a smirk on his face. Once he reached the bottom, Spike could see the left side of his face. It had a nice sized hoof print on it, but Akama did not seem to mind.

"What happened?" Spike asked slightly concerned. Spike was still cautious around Akama; the red pony still harbored resentment to dragons. However, it seemed like the alicorn was trying to be civil towards the young dragon.

Akama slowly turned his head with a growing smile. "Totally worth it," was the reply.

"Uh, what?" Spike was confused as to what could be worth getting hoof smacked.

Akama shook his head. "You'll understand when you're older. On another note: Did everypony say when they'd be here?"

"They all should be here soon," said Spike as he looked over a scroll. "The princess will be the last to arrive. Are you okay with the Cutie Mark Crusaders being here? I mean, they're kind of young."

Akama gave Spike a look. "You're younger than them. Besides, it'll be better to hear the answers from me, than have their sisters do it. 'Get the story straight from the horse's mouth' as the saying goes."

Spike scratched his head. "What horse?"

Akama sighed. "Nevermind…" A knock on the door grabbed his attention. "It seems like our guests are starting to show up. You better let Twilight know." Spike nodded and headed up the stairs as Akama walked to the door. "Welcome," he greeted pleasantly as he opened the door, revealing the farmer ponies.

Applejack smiled a little uneasy as Applebloom jumped in place. "Hey there," said the orange mare. Applejack was still thinking about the comment Akama made to her the other day. She could not tell if he was serious or not. She wanted to ask him about it, but defiantly NOT in front of anypony else. "Are we tha first here?" she asked to keep from getting nervous.

"Nope, I am," Akama joked with a laugh. "Twilight and Spike are upstairs right now. Come on in, and how are you both doing today?"

"Great!" Applebloom nearly yelled. "I can't wait to hear all 'bout you. It might give me some ideas." She grinned to show her enthusiasm.

Akama raised an eyebrow. "Ideas? What kind of ideas are we talking about?" he asked cautiously

"Like how ya got your Cutie Mark," she replied as she pointed to his flank. "We've never seen anything like it."

Akama gave a short laugh. "Well, I'll explain why my mark is the way it is later. Why don't the two of you go and relax. Once everypony's here, I'll start." He stopped for a moment. "It'll be a looong story. Be warned."

Applebloom ran to the snack table as Applejack walked next to Akama. "No nicknames?" she asked with some curiosity.

Akama shrugged. "Twilight asked me to not use any until I explain why I give nicknames and what some of the names mean. It's a small favor." Another knock was heard. "It's open!" Akama called. "Anyway, there will be plenty of time for questions later."

"Hello, darling," said Rarity as she entered with Sweetie Belle at her side. "It's nice to see you up and looking healthy." Her eyes smiled as they started to roam around Akama's body. "…Very healthy…"

"Of course," he replied with pride. "I'm the perfect stallion. What mare wouldn't want a piece of this?" He started to flex in a comedic way that got the little fillies laughing. He smiled. "I'm just messing around. I find that laughter is the best way to relax."

Rarity's gasped suddenly. "Oh my! What happened to your face?"

Akama looked confused then pointed to his cheek. "This thing? It's nothing."

"How'd ya get that anyway?" inquired Applejack as she looked at the bruise. "It looks like ya got hoofslapped."

"Somepony got hoofslapped?" asked Pinkie Pie as she popped out of nowhere. "Who? Where? When? Why?" she fired off rapidly, then looked closely at Akama and gasped, overdramatically. "It was you!"

Akama narrowed his eyes. "I think we already covered that. As for what I did, I—" Suddenly his mouth was forced shut by a purple aura. He glanced to the stairs to see Spike and Twilight walking towards them with slightly rosy cheeks.

"Hi everypony," she greeted her friends as she shot Akama a 'do not say anything' look. "How are you all doing?"

Rarity glanced between Twilight and Akama and a small smile formed. "My apologies, darling. I did not mean to intrude on a personal matter."

Twilight gave Rarity a confused look. "What are you talking about?" The white unicorn glanced over at the red alicorn that was trying to talk with a closed mouth. Twilight followed her gaze until it landed on Akama's bruise. The purple unicorn blushed again. "It's not what you think…" she tried to explain while the trio of pegasai walked in.

Akama gave a dramatic gasp, as he finally broke free of Twilight's spell. "I can breath again!" He turned to give his hostess an annoyed look. "Dat wasn't vewy nice," he said in a baby-like voice, making more than one pony smile or laugh. He smiled at the small crowd. "This is going to be interesting. I hope everypony is good and relaxed, and I'll try to not bore you all too much." He started walking towards the area he set up for his explanations.

"Hang on!" called Twilight. "Princess Celestia isn't here yet. Why are you starting now?"

Akama turned to look at her. "Who said I was starting? I was going to make sure that everything is in order. Jeez, you're a bit high strung. Maybe you should take a warm bath and relax." He grinned as Twilight renewed the red color to her cheeks.

"Hey, Twilight, why are you blushing?" asked Pinkie as she held her face right in front of Twilight's. "Did something embarrassing happen? Like, something that if any other pony knew what happened, you wouldn't be able to show your face around town? Or, it's sooo bad that just thinking about it causes you to get extra nervous? Or—Mmmh!" Pinkie's little rant was cut off by a cupcake being shoved into her mouth by one farmer.

Applejack sighed. "Sometimes I wonder where she gets all that energy, and other times… I think it's better to not know." The others nodded in agreement.

Akama just watched the friends out of the corner of his eye, and smiled at the closeness they all shared. His smile slowly vanished as thoughts crossed his mind that he did not want to deal with. Memories of a good friend that he could no longer see, because of his own weakness and stupidity. He shook his head to stop the train of thoughts before they made him too depressed to talk. He blinked and glanced towards the ceiling. "I think our guest of honor has finally arrived," he called to the group.

Everypony looked towards the door as the sun princess walked in. They all bowed and Celestia returned the gesture. Akama just stood waiting patiently. He may have sworn temporary allegiance to the princess, but that did not mean he had to follow all their customs. He had too many royals to deal with in his past to keep all the customs straight.

Celestia looked slightly surprised at the small group that shared the meeting area. "I guess all of you have questions as well?" she asked in small humor. They all nodded.

"They're questions are going to be a bit more generic than yours, _Hime_," said Akama. "Um, I mean: 'Princess.' Sorry."

Celestia smiled. "_Hime_? That brings back memories… I haven't been called that in a long time."

Akama raised an eyebrow. "Now I'll have a couple of questions for you later. Back on track now, I'd like everypony to get comfortable. The explanation is going to take a while and…" he glanced at the guards that flanked Celestia by the door. "Could you gentelcolts wait outside?"

The guards looked at Celestia for confirmation, and only moved after her nod. Once they where outside and everypony was seated comfortably, Akama walked in front of the group. He took a deep breath before beginning.

"Now I'm sure all you have various questions ranging from 'where I'm from' to 'how I can do the spells that I used on the _Oni'_ to even why I have a strange cutie mark." He winked at the young fillies. "Instead of doing a back and forth of question and answer, I'm going to give you all a small lecture on my history." Rainbow Dash groaned loudly making Twilight give her an annoyed look and Akama smile. "Yea, I'd feel the same way. But I believe that this will answer most of the questions right away, then if you have more specific ones, you are free to ask." He looked at Princess Celestia as he said the last part. "One more thing: Everything I'm about to say is the truth, as far as I know. Some parts may be hard to believe, but I swear on my honor that I will answer all question asked of me today."

Pinkie raised her hoof. "Is that anything like a 'Pinkie Promise'?" she asked slightly concerned.

Akama glanced confused at Twilight who nodded. "I guess," he shrugged.

"Great!" Pinkie beamed. "It's a bad thing to break a Pinkie Promise," she nodded sagely to herself.

Akama blinked twice before clearing his throat. "Moving on… To start with, I am from an area far East of here named Shangramare."

"Hold on!" cried Rainbow Dash. "You said you'd tell us the truth, but everypony knows that Shangramare doesn't exist. It's an old-mare's tail."

"Miss Dash, please refrain from interrupting," the princess chastised. "I assure you that Shagramare exists. It's just hidden to keep evil out, is that correct?"

Akama smiled and nodded. "Of course. You really know more than you let on _Hime_. We're going to have a real talk later. Anyway, I'm from Shagramare, it's a valley hidden the heart of the Himamanen Mountains. It's there that I learned all about Mana Manipulation." He flipped a page on the large poster next to him to reveal a small collage of rocks, plants, a river, a fire, and a metal spoon. "First though: What is Mana?" He pointed to the pictures on the page. "Everything you know is not made up of solid material. Everything is made of an energy we call 'Mana.' It can change its form depending on its sequence, or how it needs to be used. In its pure form, it acts like the life-blood of nature itself. No Mana equals no life, to put it simply. Mana is always flowing through the planet like underground rivers, and at times, collects into what I call Mana Springs or Mana Pools. These areas are so rich in raw Mana, that the plant life is extremely vibrant. Also, Shangramare is located on what is commonly called 'The Mana Sea.' It is an immeasurable amount of Mana that lies under Shangramare." He paused for a second. "Eveypony following?"

Applejack raised her hoof. "What about tha animals? Does tha Mana affect them?"

Akama smiled. "I was about to talk about that." He flipped to the next page. This one showed a bunch of circles on the upper left corner and an outline of an earth pony on the right side. Akama held a pointer stick in his hoof and pointed to the circles. "Mana, in its pure form, is everywhere. Just in small quantities. Sometimes it enters animals and ponies." He tapped between the two pictures. "It is completely harmless, it can actually be helpful in most cases. Since Mana is pure energy, it can increase one's stamina, strength, and/or speed. Animals who live in a Mana Spring are healthier and more likely to survive food shortages than others. However, for ponies, the benefits of long term, or extreme, exposure are much greater."

"What do you mean?" asked Sweetie Belle. She and the other crusaders where hanging on every word. She felt like she was being told great secrets of the world.

Akama grinned. "That's my favorite part. Once exposed to enough pure Mana, a pony gains the ability to manipulate a particular type of Mana. In other words, one would gain the ability to wield an element of nature to their own will."

Twilight raised her hoof. "That sounds a lot like magic. Are you saying that anypony can learn magic once exposed to enough Mana?"

"Yes and no," Akama replied as he flipped to another page. This on showed a pony with a circle around its chest. "First, Mana is stored in the body of the pony. While it's building, the pony will get faster, stronger, etc. Second, the form of the Mana starts to change. No one knows why, or how, but everypony is naturally attuned to a certain element, and the Mana collected starts to resemble that element. Finally, the pony can use the energy inside of them to manipulate the element they are attuned with. In order to do this, they need to learn how to safely use their abilities, or they could become a danger to themselves or others."

"That didn't really answer my question," the unicorn commented.

"I'm getting there. Here is where Mana Manipulation and magic differ. When using Mana, you are using your own energy to make an element behave as you want. Observe." He raised his left hoof and pointed at a teacup. Soon the cup rose and floated over to him. Once there, it landed softly on the floor then the tea rose out of the cup, still in the shape of the cup. "Anypony care to guess how I'm doing this?"

"Magic, duh!" yelled Rainbow, who was getting bored.

The alicorn smirked. "Here's a question for you: When unicorns and alicorns use their magic, their horns glow correct?"

"Uh, yeah?" the cyan pegasus replied a little unsure.

"Is my horn glowing?" he asked.

To Rainbow's, and nearly everypony else, surprise: it wasn't. They watched with awe as the tea slowly lowered back into the cup. Akama continued. "In order to do that, I manipulated the wind to carry the cup over to me, then I manipulated the water, or in this case, tea, to rise out of the cup and stay in the air. If I were using magic, I would form an energy field around both objects to do the same things. 'Magic,' as you know it, is the process of inserting or removing energy from an object or area. In some ways, this makes magic stronger than Mana, but in other ways weaker. I could spend all day talking of the pros and cons of the two, but that's for another time."

Applebloom jumped up. "Wait a minute, so anypony can learn how to use Mana? Not just unicorns?"

"Of course," Akama replied simply, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Every pony that lives in Shangramare is a Mana Manipulator. However, everypony is attuned to only ONE element, most of the time, and the symbol that represents the element appears around their mark on their flank. I'm an extreme exception."

"Oooo! That must mean you can you can work with five," Pinkie cried. "Because you have five different symbols around your cutie mark."

Akama nodded. "Yes, but that does not make me five times as strong." He tuned back to the picture and drew lines in the circle until it had five separate sections. "To put it as simply as I can: I can only manipulate one-fifth the Mana of a pony attuned to the same element. This means higher levels of 'spells' are impossible for me, because I won't have the reserves to do them correctly or effectively. If I attempt to do a 'spell' that is more that my Mana Reserves can handle, my life is put at risk." He took a deep breath before continuing. "You all saw what happened to me after the fight with that demon. The white hair is an early warning. It shows that I'm using my life force to manipulate the elements instead of my Mana, which has run out. That is why we create artifacts that help us."

"Like your ring?" asked Rarity. She remembered that Fluttershy had told her what he called his ring.

"Precisely," the alicorn replied as he flipped to another page. This one showed rings, a crown, staffs, a helmet, and a couple of necklaces. All of them seemed to have a jewel inserted. "Artifacts are what we call the enchanted items that we carry with us outside of Shangramare. These are items that are imbedded with a Mana Stone that is the same element that we are attuned with."

"Mana Stone? What's that?" asked Twilight. She was getting more and more interested in what the red stallion was talking about.

"Mana Stones are…" he paused in thought. "Hmmm… I guess you could call them a solid form of Elemental Mana. That is Mana that has already changed from 'pure' Mana to an element, but still in energy. They're complicated to explain, because they are very difficult to study, so we know little on _how_ they work. The important thing is _what_ they do, or can do. When a Mana Stone is inserted in an Artifact, it is enchanted to continuously draw in extra Mana for its wielder. This allows a pony to use more spells a day or larger spells."

Fluttershy slowly raised her hoof. "Um… did your ring have five then?" she asked quietly.

Akama nodded. "Yeah. One for each of the elements I'm attuned to." He flipped the page back to the pony with the circle in its chest. "The five elements I can work with are: _Kaze_, wind," he drew a symbol in one of the sections, "_Rai_, lightning; _Ho_, fire; _Mizu_, water; and _Tsuno_, earth." He drew the last symbol and looked over the ponies seated around him. "Having more than one element under my control, makes controlling Mana very difficult. Especially when you are in control of opposing elements, like fire and water. There are many things I needed to do, as part of my training, but that is irrelevant for now. Are there any questions that you care to ask? I'm pretty sure I covered most of the general ones."

"How'd you get your cutie mark?" asked Scootaloo. "Not the symbols, the swords."

Akama smiled sadly. "I got this after an attack from a dragon. I believe that it means that I'm destined to be a warrior. I hope you understand that I don't want to talk about it. It's very personal and painful." He gave a pleading look to everyone.

Applejack decided to change the subject. "Do all types of ponies live in Shangramare?"

Akama mouthed 'thank you.' "Yes. We have unicorns, pegasai, and earth ponies. Each one can use Mana and many of them weren't born in Shangramare. When a pony goes out into the world and meets their special one, they can bring them back to Shangramare with them."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Rarity. "By 'going out into the world'?"

Akama gave a short laugh. "It's like a right of passage. Once a pony reaches a certain age, they are allowed to leave the valley and see the world outside. Several don't return because they enjoy life out here, but many come back with one or two more ponies in tow." He laughed again. "There is this one story of a colt returning with his entire class from a school he was studying at in Las Pegasus. Our population grew by twenty in one day." He took a dink of room temperature tea then looked over the ponies again. "Anything else?"

When nopony said anything, Akama nodded towards Princess Celestia, indicating they should go someplace a little more privet. "Akama and I have a couple of things to discuss as fellow alicorns. The rest of you are free to do what you want, but please leave us alone." Celestia followed Akama up to Twilight's room where he made sure the door was shut tight.

"Jeez, my throat is sore," Akama commented lightly. "I didn't think the lecture would go that long. I just hope I'm not bogged down with questions every time I talk with one of them."

Celestia smiled. "They aren't bad ponies. Who knows, you might become good friends with them."

Akama shrugged. "I guess I'll see what happens." He sat down in front of the sun princess with a serious look. "What is it you want to ask me?"

Celestia's face took on a very professional look. "Was that _Oni_ the only demon around here?"

Akama shook his head. "Not really. There are always some small ones, but the _Oni_ was the only one that was going to be a threat to somepony's life. If any others appear, I'll let you know as soon as I can."

Celestia's face softened. "Do you have any idea on how to repair your artifact?"

Akama sighed. "I need to find five new Mana Stones, which are very rare outside of Shangramare, and I need a Mythril Forge. There wouldn't be one at the palace, would there?" he asked hopefully.

Celestia shook her head a bit sadly. "We did at one time, but it was… destroyed…"

Akama sighed in frustration. "Makes sense. This is a peaceful land after all. It would only add to potential conflicts if left alone. Do you have any idea where one could be?"

The princess shook her head again. "The only place I know of that could have one would be in the Griffin Kingdom. However, according to our treaty, they should have destroyed theirs as well. I'm sorry I can't be of more help."

Akama chuckled. "You've helped me more than you realize. It was you, who gave me a boost of Mana when I was in the hospital, wasn't it? Without that, who knows when my body would've recovered. Also, letting me stay here with your prized pupil, you allowed me to find a Mana Lake in the forest. If anything, I should be looking for things to repay you."

Celestia smiled happily. "That is nice of you to say. Maybe I can still help you a bit more."

Akama tilted his head in confusion and curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"There is an open house that is fully furnished in town," she began. "It was originally used for diplomats that where on their way to Canterlot, before the railway was finished. It's been kept clean and organized, and I think you'll do better than living around a dragon," she finished with a look.

Akama flinched. "Hoshi told you about that…?" Celestia nodded and he sighed. "Of course she would… Well, if you think it's going to be for the best, who am I to refuse. I'll move in tomorrow, I'm sure Pie-Chi will be willing to throw me all my parties there. I think that will make four or five."

"Who's 'Pie-Chee'?" asked a very confused Celestia.

"You know, the curly pink haired one."

Celestia smiled. "You say you aren't friends, yet you constantly give them nicknames. Why is that?"

Akama shrugged. "It's my way of remembering. I'm really bad at names, so if I'm the one that gave them a name, it helps me keep track of who's who."

Celestia shook her head in an amused manner. "You are a very unique pony. I can honestly say that I haven't met someone like you."

Akama grinned. "I'll take that as a complement. Is there anything else you wanted to ask me?"

"Well… I was wondering how you got that bruise…"

* * *

Meanwhile…

"You know, I never thought he'd be so complicated," commented Rarity. "Anypony still confused?" she asked her friends.

Fluttershy shook her head. "Not really. A lot of it made sense to me."

"Me too," boasted Rainbow Dash as she drank some water.

Applejack stared skeptically at the pegasus. "So it wasn't you that was snorin' through tha last half?"

Rainbow spat out some of her water in surprise and started coughing. "Uh… well…" she glanced off to the side of the room as Applejack continued to look at her. "I snore when I find something interesting?" she lamely tried to recover some face. Applejack just rolled her eyes.

"Shangramare sounds like the best place to earn our cutie marks," said Scootaloo as she and the other crusaders talked excitedly.

Applebloom nodded. "Yeah! Not only that, but you and me can learn magic, like Sweetie Belle."

Sweetie Belle looked concerned. "Wait a minute. Didn't Akama say that each pony could work with an element? How do we know what our element is?"

Scootaloo scratched her head, "Does this mean we have to change our name to the Cutie Mark and Element Crusaders?"

Before Applebloom could respond, a loud BANG echoed through the room. A moment later, Princess Celestia walked down the stairs with a smile.

She gave a small bow to the group of friends. "I'm sorry, everypony, but I need to return to the castle. A princess' work is never done." As she walked past Twilight she leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Nice right hook, by the way." She then left.

Twilight raised an eyebrow in confusion until she recalled Akama's injury, and blushed once again.

"What did Celestia-_hime_ say to you?"

Twilight jumped as she noticed Akama standing right next to her. She took a close look and noticed that he still had the bruise she gave him earlier. Her confusion returned.

Akama looked around. "Is there something wrong? Do I have something on my face, other than the bruise?"

Twilight shook her head. As she opened her mouth to speak, Pinkie Pie popped up between them. "Super sorry everyone," she began. "I accidentally closed the bathroom door a teensy bit too hard. Sorry if I scared anypony." She then trotted off to the snack table.

Akama could not help it, he began to laugh. Soon Twilight was laughing as well. Akama noticed how carefree and musical her laugh was. _She laughs just like…_ He looked away and walked to the other guests with a smile. _Stop thinking of her,_ he scolded himself. _Nothing can change the past._

"Any more questions for me?" he asked.

_To Be Continued…_

**A/N:** I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Like I said before, if you have any concerns about how I explained the way I'm having Mana work in this story, please don't hesitate to PM me. General questions can be left in reviews. It might be a while before the next chapter… real life is such a pain… See you next time. Ja ne!


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